I bet Microsoft are feeling pretty smug right now after the battalion of Windows Phone 7 handsets were released to positive critical reception and Xbox went portable.
(Well sort of. Check out this Ben Heck mod to see a truly portable 360)
But as they wait for the gamers to line up outside of Phones 4U with open arms analysis's are predicting doom.
Redmond hopes that some 25 million owners of the Xbox 360 video game console, who pay about $60 a year so they can play multiplayer games online, will provide a good customer base to drive sales of Windows Phone 7 handsets.
But Mike Hickey, a Janco Partners analyst told Reuters that he was skeptical that the tie-in with the Xbox will be enough to lure gamers to the phones.
He said that "While there was some harmony with the Xbox, he did not think that people would really buy these phones for the games." He also give Microsoft a little advice: "More exclusive game content is needed to set the phones apart from the flood of games already available on competing phones that run Android software and the Iphone." He may have a point.
On Microsoft's side though is Electronic Arts which has said that it will develop mobile games for phones running Windows Phone 7, which can be connected to users’ Xbox live subscriptions i.e., players can accumulate points on their Xbox accounts by playing the EA games.
The titles look good so far with “The Sims” and “Need for Speed: Undercover” being announced. Who doesn't want Sims on the go?
Source: INQUIRER